Bottle-cap extractor.



atonted km. mm.

WITNESS.

jav 6M ATTORNEY.

PA. onrio LOLA E, BALDWIN, OF GALESBURG, ILLINOIS.

BOTTLE-CAP EXTRACTOR.

\ Patented Oct, 3, 1916.

Application filed May 20, 1915. v Serial No. 29,338.

1,199,860, Specification of Letters Patent.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOLA citizen of the United States, and a resident R. BALDWIN, a invention.

Considering the drawings in detail and of Galesburg, in the county of Knox and referring to each element (and part there-' State of Illinois, have invented a new and. of Where required) by a distinguishing useful Bottle-Cap Extractor, of which the numeral, uniformly employed, 2 designates following is a specification, a tapered or conical tube, made prefer-ably My invention relates to devices for reof thin, bright and sanitary metal and moving paper caps or stoppers from milk Which may be either spun or made of sheet and cream bottles. Such caps are generally metal the edges of which are :butted :and ad of a g d grad of ast b d d then soldered together to provide :a surface are covered or saturated with paraflin or free from irregularities due to overlapping. some kindred substance not only to render The c ne is truncated nd to i s W r QX i them moisture-proof but also to make them soldered or otherwise secured a piercing or somewhat firm t. ili t. Thu th y puncturing tip or point 3 of such shape and spring int l c i th i t i nnul size as to preserve the continuity of .the groove or seat in the neck of the bottle. cone, and said tip is preferably made of Because of their being made to fit almost steel or some other metal which will take perfectly, and because of the above stated' and hold a very sharp point.

conditions, it is somewhat difficult to remove them, the attempt so to do being fre- 0n the base of the cone, as by soldering, quently attended by pushing the cap down and is provided with a centrally arranged into the cream, by tearing the cap, by aperture for the passage of a rod or stem 35 splashing the cream, and by consequent loss the upper end of which is bent to form an thereof. eye 6 The principal object of my invention is 7 designates an annular shoulder, formed to provide a simple, inexpensive, durable rf y ag g h P 1 1' a f 'i' p of and easily operated tool or instrument, ol erf which is cleanly which is sanitary, and h lo r end of the stem 5 11s flattened which will lift WPP m the bottle to prov1de a foot 8 havlng atransverse aper- Without any of the attendant ill results ture into which is fitted and secured a pin 9.

ab v d ib d. NA 10, 10 designate cap-lifting arms the inner Another object is to provide an 'extractor end of each of which is bent to form an eye the parts of which may with ease andjfa- 11 which pivotally embraces one of the ends cility be assembled, and which may ash O t pi In Order to F 1 9 011 readily and facilely be taken apart for sa d P111 its ends may be struck up or riveted. cleaning or for repairs. Theflendpf the conical tube .adjacent the To these ends the invention consists, subpier ing po nt frslfrpl vlded With oppositely an elevational View of a modification of the 4 designates a top, suitably secured to and stantially, in the improvements herein described.

By way of, example a cap-extracting instrument constructed according to the invention is hereinafter described, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in

which dispos'ed smail openings 15 through which the lifting arine 10 are adapted to be ,projected, and by reference to Figs. 1 to '3, inclusive, it will be seen that the ends of the arms 10 are beveled while the body portions are of sufficient crosswsectiona l area to cause the same substantially to engage frictiona-lly Figure 1 is an elevation of the device in, the side Walls Of the openings 15 to prevent what I may term normal position, or posi tion ready to pierce and be inserted through the cap; Fig. 2, a similar view, but the device turned partly around and the parts in position ready to extract the cap; Fig. 3,

\ a longitudinal central section, the elements shown as in the same positions as in Fig. 2, and a bottle-cap shown as 1n position for bethe entrance of any matter within thejtube 2. As shown in Fig. 11, the beveled ends of the arms 10 normally lie exposed in the openings 15 with the outer ends flush with the outer wall of the tube so as to obviate danger of the arms injuring adjacent articles andalso to provide a constant closure for the openings 15. It will be readily undering lifted or extracted; Fig. 4, an enlarged stoodin using the device'that the cleaning detail, partly broken away; and Fig. 5, is

of the arm ends is accomplished when the sides of the tube 2 are cleaned, as by rubbing the same with a cloth, and the inner ends of the arms being protected by being inclosed within the tube, it will not be necessary to project the same for cleaning as in previous devices.

In the-modification, Fig. 5, I have shown a cylindrical tube 12 having a tapered lower end 13 to which the point or tip 3 is suitably secured. 1% indicates -a removable top screwed onto the upper end of the tube 12. To remove a cap or stopper from a bottle the point 3 is first inserted through it. Because of the sharpness and the conical shape of the point this is accomplished by using only a very slight pressure by no means suflicient to dislodge the cap. The instrument will be pushed down until the openings 15 lie just below the cap, when the operator, one of whose fingersis inserted through the eye 6 while other fingers and the thumb are clasping the tube 2, will press downwardly on said eye to depress the relatively movable elements to cause the arms 10 to pass in contactwith and over the lower edges of and out through the apertures 15, the normal positions of the tips of the arms being flush with the metal about said apertures. This willthrow the arms to the positions shown best in Fig. 3. The operator will now, while bearing on the eye 6 with sufficient force to maintain the elements in the relative positions just described. lift on the tube 2, whereby the arms 10 will bear upwardly on the lower face of the cap (indicated'by 16, Fig. 3) and raise it from its seat in the neck of the bottle. The operation is performed in an instant. The cap is pierced and lifted so easily and efl'ectively that there is no attendant danger of either pushing it into the cream, of splitting the cap, or of spilling or splashing the cream. The cap may be removed from the stem by raising the latter relatively to the tube and then pushing the cap off the point. The rod 5 and the elements carried therebymay be inserted upwardly from the bottom of the tube before the point 3 is secured thereto, in

which event the eye 6 is formed after the end of the rod is passed throughthe aperture in the top 4. ()r the rod and its attached parts may be inserted downward through the tube before the top is secured thereto. To disassemble the device shown in Figs. 1. 2 and 3 it is necessary only to apply sullicient heat to melt the solder, whereupon the rod and the elements carried thereby may be removed for repairs or for cleaning.

It will be quite evident that numerous changes may be made in the details of construction from those shown, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Therefore, without limiting myself to de. tails or particularities except where such are specifically pointed out, I claim as new the following, to-wit As an article of manufacture, a bottle-cap extractor comprising a conical tube provided with oppositely arranged apertures near its lower end, a top on said upper end, provided with a centrallyarranged aperture, a piercing-point secured on the lower end of the tube, an operating-rod passing through said aperture in the top, said rod provided at its upper end with an eye, intermediate its ends with a shoulder adapted to strike said top to limit its upward movement, and its lower end flattened, a pin secured transversely of and to said flattened end, and cap-lifting arms having beveled outer ends adapted to lie flush with the outer wall of said conical tube secured on said pin each by bending it around one end portion of the pin, the free end of each arm adapted to pass outward through one of said oppositely arranged apertures with the body-portion of each arm substantially frictionally engaging the side walls of the apertures to provide riconstant closures therefor.

In testimony whereof I hereto subscribe my name this 12th day of May, 1915, at Galesburg, Knox county, Illinois.

LOLA R. BALDIVIN.

fioptes ot't patent may be obtained for ave cents each, by addressing the Commissioner e2 Patents,

Washington, a. G. 

